Number of local mums breastfeeding babies below national average

Newborn baby

The number of mums in the Borough breastfeeding their babies is lower than the national average, Public Health England quarterly statistics show.

Figures published yesterday (July 27) show that 34.3% of Rochdale infants aged six-eight weeks were breastfed partially or fully between May to June 2016.

Previous figures, released in January, showed the lowest rate for 2015/16 with only 31.8% of infants receiving breast milk.

The UK average rate for breastfeeding infants is 43.7%, based on returned data from authorities passing three stages of validation.

Only 85 authorities across England were able to meet this requirement, which required knowing the breastfeeding status of at least 95% of infants reviewed. The breastfeeding categories were: exclusively breastfed, partially breastfed, or not breastfed.

Exclusively breastfed requires the child to solely receive breast milk, whereas partial may include formula, other liquids and some solids alongside breast milk.

The Borough of Rochdale marginally failed to pass stage three validation with 94.9% of infants’ breastfeeding status known. This was the difference of just one child.

In October 2015, responsibility for monitoring and reporting on children’s health was granted to 160 local authorities by NHS England.

As a result, the reporting method of such data has changed and will be reviewed after one year.